2003 Mitsubishi Montero Sport problems
The 2003 Mitsubishi Montero Sport has 43 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (21%) concerns engine. After that come air bags (12%) and brakes (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 43 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 10 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 34 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 12 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 34 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 65,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 10 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 96% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the Mitsubishi Montero Sport with enough data (23 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The owner smelled gasoline fuel when operating vehicle and starting it one last time, the engine compartment burst into flames. The fuel rail pressure valve was loose, and caused fuel to leak and start a fire.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 55MPH on rough slippery roads the vehicle slid off the road. After pulling back on the road, the vehicle started fish tailing and went over a twenty foot embankment. The vehicle uprooted a tree. During this time the frontal airbags failed to deploy. Moderate head injuries were sustained by the driver. There was a police report filed. The insurance company determined the vehicle was a total loss, but has not investigated the reason for the airbag failure.
I rear-ended an SUV going about 30-35 MPH and my airbags failed to deploy and my seatbelt failed to catch, throwing my upper body forward into the steering wheel. The police at the scene of the accident said they could not believe my airbags did not deploy with the amount of damage to the front end of my vehicle.
I bought the truck on a cloudy day. When the sun hit it, it had swirl marks burnt into it from where it was buffed at the factory. When turned in they buffed it again. Now that it rained it still shows all. Another problem is the transmission. It has severe lag and sometimes won't shift at all.
I just picked up my son's vehicle from the service garage where I had just had new brakes and rotors installed for him. I was on the way to meet my husband at the grocery store but needed to drop off some letters at the outdoor mail box at the post office which was < 1/4 mile from the service garage. As I pulled up to the post office drop box, I had my foot on the brake and was going just a few miles an hour. All of a sudden the engine revved loudly and the vehicle lurched forward.